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Peak Photos and Memories


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Being born and bred in Nottingham and becoming interested in railways in the mid 1960's the Peaks (classes 44, 45 and 46) will always, I suspect be to the forefront of my railway memories. I reckon I must have had around 100,000 miles of travel behind a Peak, had a few cab rides on freights and driven for a couple of miles a class 44. I took quite a few Peak photo's over the years and to start this thread here are two from 1976.

 

45017 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/5595827811/

45109 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/9681894999/

 

 

 

 

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Peaks were  apart of my young adult years, going to university at Aston, I travelled behind classes 45 and 46, Sheffield-Birmingham and return.

 

They had a real presence, not like todays anaemic stuff......plus I never didn't get a seat, with eleven on in winter and up to fourteen in summer.

What happened to that level of service?

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Spent many a happy hour beside the mainline south of Ratcliffe PS whilst doing teacher-training at Nottingham (Clifton).

 

My last three of the classes were:

44004,

45020

45110.

 

I had already cleared class 46. Strangely enough, 45020 and 45110 were seen within half an hour of each other.

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Spent many a happy hour beside the mainline south of Ratcliffe PS whilst doing teacher-training at Nottingham (Clifton).

I know the spot very well, I lived in Clifton for 25 years from a few days old baby to getting married. My two local spots were this one or Lenton South Junction and I first push bike to them in 1966. It was the 23rd July 1966 for my first visit to Ratcliffe, I remember the date because it was the day England beat Argentinian 1-0 in the quarter finals of the World Cup and I chose trainspotting rather than watch the game. I was watching the television the following Saturday mind you.

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As a secondman, I remember seeing 45*** dumped at Norwood loco sidings in South London for about a week, maybe a failure? Would have been around 1985-6ish. I just remember thinking how massive it was compared to our usual 33s and 73s and I've had a soft spot for them ever since, although I never saw another in the metal, so to speak. I've always wondered what it was working to end up there and I wish I'd made a note of the number!

 

Edit: Aha! It was 45115 and someone even managed to get a picture of it at Norwood during layover on June 6th, 1985. 45115 was withdrawn June 1988 and scrapped March 1990.

 

http://www.derbysulzers.com/45115norwood85.jpg

Edited by Pete 75C
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My first sightings of peaks were at Exeter St Davids in 1969/70.

I seem to have recorded quite a lot of the 45s and most of the 46s, but my first 44s were not until after TOPS renumbering.

 

post-7081-0-40838200-1393774701.jpg

45016 prepares to depart Dawlish with the 15.05 SO Paignton - Leeds, I would imagine plenty of arm flailing is about to commence, 19/7/80

 

post-7081-0-82052200-1393774711_thumb.jpg

Stabled in the remains of the steam shed at Newton Abbot are Lairas 25058 along with peaks 45063 (Toton), 46001 (Laira) and 45054 (Toton), 21/7/80

 

cheers 

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And a couple more, this time from Severn Tunnel Junction.

 

post-7081-0-81613500-1393777502.jpg

Gatesheads 46051 hauls Tinsley allocated 45009 past the down hump, the 45 had recently been damaged by a cab fire, 9/9/80. 

 

 

post-7081-0-19710800-1393777514.jpg

45033 departs from the Bristol Yard with the 08.45 service for Hallen Marsh.

I think the ferry vans next to the loco are conveying zinc ingots, or going empty to Commonwealth Smelting at Avonmouth to be loaded with ingots, the HTVs are loaded with coke for the Smelting Works, 9/9/80

 

cheers

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Couple of Peaks off the beaten track...

 

Sunday diversion of a Sheffield-London train via Bedford-Bletchley-Euston. 1982 I think:

post-6971-0-78258500-1393778536.jpg

 

You can just make out the departure indicator blowing it up:

post-6971-0-78122200-1393778535.jpg

 

And at Surbiton after rededication of its nameplate. 45143 "5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards" on the 1310 Waterloo-Exeter, 11 June 1985. (see http://www.derbysulz.../class45wr.html). Apparently 1685-1985 was added to the nameplate at the ceremony:

post-6971-0-08842800-1393778535.jpg

 

 

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And another oddment: D4 being taken to a Coalville open day, June 1983, passing Leicester behind a rather earlier Midlands-based loco:

post-6971-0-82917300-1393779405.jpg

 

We chased it round to the Coalville line near Berry's scrapyard. It must have reversed direction via the triangle at Wigston, as the loco's still tender-behind here, pointing towards Coalville:

post-6971-0-11388800-1393779589.jpg

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  • RMweb Gold

I was fortunate to see the Peaks all over the country and here's a trio of old black and white shots from me.

 

First up is 158 (later 46 021) at Exeter St Davids on a sunny Sunday in July 1972.

 

post-7291-0-68893500-1393780611_thumb.jpg

 

Next we have 46 050 at York on 6th October 1977. Along with a colleague, I had been to see David Jenkinson at the NRM and this was one of several shots taken while we waited for our train back south.

 

post-7291-0-21758300-1393780622_thumb.jpg

 

And finally, how I remember the Peaks best: flying up and down the MML. This is 45 135 storming south on an up express at Harpenden on 3rd March 1979.

 

post-7291-0-89250200-1393780632_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

I was very fortunate in seeing all of the 44s up close and personal as they came out of the works at Derby, lovely machines and great names don't you think?.......my last U.K. journey was behind a Peak( a 45 I think ) in September 1971 on the 8-10 Derby- St. Pancras en route to Australia.

Great photos.

 

Rgds.......Mike

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